Page Three: “Blessed Are The Peacemakers” 08/05/2012
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Ephesians 2:13 “But now in Christ Jesus ye who sometimes were far off are made nigh by the blood of Christ. (14) For he is our peace, who hath made both one, and hath broken down the middle wall of partition between us;
(15) Having abolished in his flesh the enmity, even the law of commandments contained in ordinances; for to make in himself of twain one new man, so making peace; (16) And that he might reconcile both unto God in one body by the cross, having slain the enmity thereby: (17) And came and preached peace to you which were afar off, and to them that were nigh.” You find peace when you discover the Source of peace. And you find peace when you discover that peace comes at a very expensive price; Jesus’ death the Cross of Calvary. Listen again to what Paul says about Jesus. Ephesians 2:13 “But now in Christ Jesus ye who sometimes were far off are made nigh by the blood of Christ. (14) For he is our peace,…” Just as surely as God is God, Jesus is our peace. And that peace with God comes one and only one way; through placing your absolute confidence in the blood of Christ. You may be one of those who seek peace in all the wrong places: people being kind to you, searching your own soul to find it somewhere in your heart, trying to do good things for others. You might even try to find peace by finding a better relationship with someone. Some hope to find in by taking drugs, even prescription drugs. They believe that this will bring them a measure of peace. But the answer is found, not in this world’s ideas; not in philosophy or religion, but in the Person and work of Jesus Christ. Peace comes to the heart that trusts Jesus’ blood. Jesus became the Sacrifice for your sins. He paid all that needed to be paid on your behalf. And the moment you trust Him and His cross work, you find, not merely personal peace. You find “peace with God.” |
You see, folks, peace comes through love, the love of God. And it comes at the expense of the One Who gave Himself up on your behalf. Why else would Christ go to the Cross? Why be crucified for someone else’s sins? One reason: love. It’s God’s love for you that is the basis for peace. Christ died in love for you. And that reality is the most blessed reality there is.
You see God’s love is personal. And when you believe the love that God had for you in sending Christ to die for you, you will find not only forgiveness for all your sins. You will also find that with God’s forgiveness comes His peace. First, the Source of peace is a Person. Second, Peace comes to the one who is rightly related to Jesus Christ. Third, a peace-maker, then, is someone who is called a child of God. Here’s Jesus again. Matthew 5:9 “Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God.” Now, if, according to the Bible, God is the Source of peace and Jesus is the means of peace, then I must be a peacemaker every time I declare the truth about Jesus Christ. And every time I make peace, God sees and knows me as a child of God. And the same holds true for you. You see, a peacemaker is what Jesus is after. If you are indeed related to God through His Son Jesus Christ, you have no excuse for neglecting to make peace with those around you. Notice carefully what Jesus says. It’s not that you are to wait for someone else to come to make peace with you. The LORD’s call to you is to go to that person and make peace with them. Is it difficult? Will it humble you? Will you need grace to do so? Yes, yes, and yes. But go you must. And why? Because those who are called the children of God do this. They know that their own peace with God is joined closely to their going to those with whom they don’t have peace. |